A farmhouse for sale in Allier (03), a barn to convert or a Bourbonnais smallholding with a few hectares of pasture: this Charolais cattle-farming department has kept a stone and brick farm architecture typical of the Bourbonnais. This page brings together the farmhouses, barns and mas for sale in Allier published on ma-propriete.fr: a Bourbonnais farmhouse with a cowshed and barn, a Bocage bourbonnais farm, a former livestock farm with pasture, a stand-alone barn to renovate.
Below you will find the actual prices of the Allier rural market, an overview of where to look, from the Bocage bourbonnais to the Sologne bourbonnaise, and the points to check before buying a former farm building. If your project is tourism-related, our white paper on setting up a rural gîte will help you cost it. Many Bourbonnais farmhouses have kept their original cowshed intact, an asset for anyone wanting to resume livestock farming.
There are no statistics dedicated to farmhouses and barns: a renovated farmhouse sells like a country house with outbuildings and land, whereas a bare barn or a farm to renovate often sells well below. The most useful benchmark therefore remains the price of country houses.
How much does a country house cost in Allier (03)? According to DVF data (notarised sales) analysed by the ma-propriete.fr observatory, the median price of a country house in Allier (03) stood at €115,000 in 2025, with an average price of €122,419 and a median price of €1,204/m² of living space (1,587 house sales in rural municipalities over the year). The price range is wide: 10% of houses sold for less than €52,190 (floor price, 1st decile) and 10% for more than €206,024 (ceiling price, 9th decile). The typical country house here offers 101 m² of living space on an average plot of 4,565 m², i.e. around 0.5 ha.
This market is well below the regional median (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: €230,000) and well below the national median (€189,200). Since the second half of 2020, the median price has risen from €100,000 to €115,000, i.e. +15.0%; over one year (2024-2025) the change is +4.5%.
| 2025 indicator | Allier | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | France |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median price | €115,000 | €230,000 | €189,200 |
| Average price | €122,419 | €246,927 | €207,100 |
| Floor price (1st decile) | €52,190 | €98,000 | €90,000 |
| Ceiling price (9th decile) | €206,024 | €410,000 | €340,000 |
| Median price per m² of living space | €1,204/m² | €2,200/m² | €1,830/m² |
| Average living space | 101 m² | 109 m² | 108 m² |
| Average plot size | 4,565 m² | 3,243 m² | 3,181 m² |
| Number of sales in 2025 | 1,587 | 16,528 | 150,313 |
A departmental average hides large gaps. A smallholding to renovate, a restored longère with its outbuildings, a farmhouse on several hectares of land or a manor house with parkland do not sell at the same price, and the location matters as much as the building: coastline, tourist area, peri-urban countryside close to a job market or deep countryside. The table below shows the median price of country houses in Allier (03) by type of municipality (cumulative sales from mid-2020 to 2025) and its change between 2021 and 2025.
| Type of municipality | Median price 2020-2025 | Median price per m² | Change 2021-2025 | Sales 2020-2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland tourist areas (hinterland, mountains) | €84,775 | €926/m² | +36.8% | 452 |
| Peri-urban countryside (city catchment area) | €117,200 | €1,188/m² | +7.9% | 5,333 |
| Deep countryside (outside urban influence) | €100,000 | €1,066/m² | +8.2% | 4,321 |
These benchmarks help you assess a listing, estimate a property before putting it up for sale, or set your budget for a holiday home or a permanent move to the French countryside. To go further, see our observatory of country house prices in France (national, regional and departmental analysis, downloadable annual report) and work out the full cost of your purchase, including French notary fees, with our notary fees calculator.
The Bourbonnais farmhouse combines local stone with brick, with a cowshed sized for Charolais cattle and an often spacious hay barn. In the Bocage bourbonnais, west of the department, the buildings are scattered among hedgerows and grassland; towards the Sologne bourbonnaise, in the east, farms sit closer to ponds and pine woods. There are no mas in Allier: people speak of a Bourbonnais farmhouse or a livestock farm.
These holdings often include a sizeable hay barn that can be converted into a home or into several gîtes, subject to planning zoning and a building permit. The adjoining farmland, frequently several hectares of natural pasture, suits keeping horses, maintaining a herd, or starting a permaculture project.
The Bocage bourbonnais, around Bourbon-l'Archambault, Souvigny and Montluçon, has an abundant supply of livestock farms to renovate. Towards Moulins and the Allier valley, farmhouses are more common along the edge of the arable plain. The Sologne bourbonnaise, around Lapalisse and Dompierre-sur-Besbre, offers farms close to ponds and woodland. The Vichy and Cusset area completes the picture in the south-east. Around Gannat and the A71 motorway corridor, connections to Clermont-Ferrand and Vichy make some farmhouses easier to reach for weekend buyers.
Near Vichy, a spa town and tourist hub, renovated farmhouses sell clearly above the departmental average. Around Montluçon, in a more industrial basin, and in the deep Bocage, farmhouses in need of work remain among the most affordable in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Around Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule, on the vine-covered slopes of the local vineyard, a few farmhouses stand out for their proximity to vine plots.
Check the permitted use of the buildings: a barn in an agricultural zone of the local plan can only become a home if the planning document identifies it as eligible for a change of use. Look at the roof (tiles or slate depending on the area, sometimes asbestos-cement sheets on more recent sheds), the timber frame and the drainage, which often needs bringing up to standard on these remote holdings.
If livestock or farming land come with the property, ask about any current farm lease and the pre-emption right of the Safer, particularly active in this farming department. Finally, cost the renovation precisely: it is often as expensive as buying the farmhouse itself. Finally, ask about the condition of fencing and water points in the pastures, details often overlooked but essential for anyone planning livestock or a horse-livery project.
On ma-propriete.fr, filter Allier farms and barns by budget, built area and land area, set up an email alert to be told of new listings, and extend your search to all farmhouses, barns and mas for sale in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
